Issue Station
Sign In
Tools hereToolbox

hermes - ✅(Solved) Fix [Bug]: Install fails when using nix-darwin [1 pull requests, 1 participants]

Official PRs (…)
ON THIS PAGE

Recommended Tools

×6

Utilities matched from this issue’s tags and category — try them while you read without losing context.

GitHub issue graph ai analysis

Paste a GitHub issue URL. We fetch that issue, discover linked issues from bodies/comments/timeline, collect linked pull requests, and produce a structured English report.

The report is written in English Markdown for sharing and archival.

Helpful · Quick feedback

Loading…
GitHub stats
NousResearch/hermes-agent#15016•Fetched 2026-04-25 06:25:08
View on GitHub
Comments
0
Participants
1
Timeline
5
Reactions
0
Author
steinybotsteinybot
Participants
steinybotsteinybot
Timeline (top)
labeled ×4cross-referenced ×1

Error Message

Additional Logs / Traceback (optional)

Root Cause

It should attempt to append to ~/.zshrc, fail because of permissions, log a warning, inform the user what to setup manually, and continue.

Fix Action

Fixed

PR fix notes

PR #15036: fix(install): handle non-writable shell config files gracefully

Description (problem / solution / changelog)

What

Fixes installer failures when shell config files (~/.zshrc, ~/.bashrc) are not writable.

Why

The install scripts failed with "Permission denied" when trying to modify shell configs managed by nix-darwin, home-manager, or other declarative systems. These files are typically symlinked to read-only locations.

Changes

  • setup-hermes.sh: Wrap shell config writes with error handling
  • scripts/install.sh: Same pattern for bash/zsh and fish configs

Behavior now

  • Attempts to write PATH export to shell config
  • If write fails, shows warning with manual PATH setup instructions
  • Installation continues without failing

How to test

  1. Make your shell config non-writable: chmod -w ~/.zshrc
  2. Run install: ./setup-hermes.sh
  3. Should show warning and manual instructions instead of failing

Platforms tested

  • macOS (nix-darwin configuration)

Closes #15016

Co-Authored-By: Claude Opus 4.6 [email protected]

Changed files

  • scripts/install.sh (modified, +25/-8)
  • setup-hermes.sh (modified, +15/-7)

Code Example

→ Setting up hermes command...
✓ Symlinked hermes → ~/.local/bin/hermes
bash: line 1019: /Users/jason/.zshrc: Permission denied

---

I can't install

---
RAW_BUFFERClick to expand / collapse

Bug Description

The installation fails on macOS when using nix-darwin. With nix-darwin, ~/.zshrc is managed by Nix and so you cannot write to it willy nilly. The install will fail.

Steps to Reproduce

  1. Install nix-darwin
  2. Have nix manage ZSH (I forget if this is the default or not, possibly you have to set zsh.enable = true in home.nix with home-manager).
  3. Install hermes

Expected Behavior

It should attempt to append to ~/.zshrc, fail because of permissions, log a warning, inform the user what to setup manually, and continue.

Actual Behavior

Installation fails with:

→ Setting up hermes command...
✓ Symlinked hermes → ~/.local/bin/hermes
bash: line 1019: /Users/jason/.zshrc: Permission denied

Affected Component

Setup / Installation

Messaging Platform (if gateway-related)

N/A (CLI only)

Debug Report

I can't install

Operating System

macOS 26.3.1

Python Version

3.11.14

Hermes Version

No response

Additional Logs / Traceback (optional)

Root Cause Analysis (optional)

No response

Proposed Fix (optional)

No response

Are you willing to submit a PR for this?

  • I'd like to fix this myself and submit a PR

extent analysis

TL;DR

The installation of hermes fails on macOS when using nix-darwin due to permission issues with writing to ~/.zshrc, and a workaround is needed to manually configure the ZSH setup.

Guidance

  • The issue arises because nix-darwin manages ~/.zshrc, preventing direct writes. To mitigate this, consider setting up a custom ZSH configuration file that can be managed by the user.
  • Verify the current ZSH configuration setup by checking the home.nix file for zsh.enable = true and understand how nix-darwin manages ZSH configurations.
  • To workaround the issue, manually append the necessary configuration to the ~/.zshrc file or create a custom configuration file that can be sourced by ZSH, following the guidance provided by the hermes installation output.
  • Check the hermes installation documentation for specific instructions on how to manually configure ZSH when using nix-darwin.

Example

No specific code example can be provided without knowing the exact configuration and requirements of the hermes installation and nix-darwin setup.

Notes

The solution may vary depending on the specific versions of nix-darwin, home-manager, and hermes being used, as well as the user's ZSH configuration preferences.

Recommendation

Apply workaround: Manually configure the ZSH setup as instructed by the hermes installation output, to ensure compatibility with nix-darwin's management of ~/.zshrc.

Vote matrix · Quick signals

Works
Did the solution work? Tap to confirm.
Easy Fix
Was it a quick fix?
Time Saver
Did it save you time?
Blocking
Was it severely blocking?
Common Issue
Are others likely hitting this too?
Flaky / Intermittent
Is it intermittent?
Verified / Reproducible
Can you reproduce it reliably?
Loading…
#installation#cache issue#memory leak#API versioning#request timeout

Still need to ship something?

×6

Another batch ranked right after the header list — different links, same matching logic.

Back to top recommendations

TRENDING

hermes - ✅(Solved) Fix [Bug]: Install fails when using nix-darwin [1 pull requests, 1 participants]